Lazy

I am not going to lie- I have been VERY lazy with the blog! Between being at home on vacation, and now actually being ON vacation in Florida, I just don't feel like writing! And... Darrel's computer will not turn on, and he is my "picture sender". I feel like blogs are kind of boring without pics. Unless you are Heather and you have hilarious stories about a little one. Speaking of little ones... my new favorite show is Jon and Kate + 8 on TLC. It is too much! You must tune in.

So... check back soon- I will be writing about my wonderful Ft. Lauderdale penthouse vacation soon. :)

St Patty's Day

Well, we certainly had a fun day on Monday! Darrel and I raced home from Detroit on Sunday night after our show so we would be in Cleveland for St. Patrick's Day. Trust me, I was happy to get out of the ghetto we were staying in and head home.


My cousin Kelly came over to the house around 10am, and we began our chilly walk to the rapid station. Public transportation in Cleveland is horrible, but I happen to live by our "train" (if you can even call it that) that runs from the Heights suburbs, to downtown. A mile in the car does not seem far, but walking a mile in the cold sure does! With frozen ears, we got on the rapid with my friend Scott, "coffee" mugs in hand, ready to go for the day.

First stop was Otto Moser's, a bit of a family friend tradition. It's a great place to start the day, have a few beers, and grab something to eat. All before noon of course. Some very close friends of my uncle Charlie's were there, which made my day. We decided to try and watch some of the parade this year, something I usually miss, even when I am on the same street it is going down. We caught the first 10 minutes, saw some people marching and some old cars, met a crazy guy on skates with his dog and a wheeling garbage can who picks up poop all day (really) then ducked into another bar. The theme of the day was, "this one's not too busy- let's go"! Five bars and many, many beers later, we had met up with friends, seen the parade, and accomplished our St. Patrick's Day mission!

We were home by 5:30, ate pizza, and in bed by 9:00. I really felt like I was 21 again. :)

Organizing Life

Our two week break/vacation started on Monday. We had shows in (super ghetto) Detroit over the weekend, and I had to try to organize my "tour life" a bit. It becomes very simple to start stashing stuff on the bus. I have a junk bunk- a whole extra bed to just keep stuff in. But, the bus was leaving, and I had to get all of my stuff off of it.

I brought everything I had into the hotel in Detroit, so I could see what I wanted to bring home, and what I could leave out on the road (I can put stuff on our trucks that does not need to come home with me).

Three trips later, I realized that I have taken advantage of my junk bunk. 12 pairs of shoes, 5 jackets, bags of gifts, books, two suitcases of clothing, a backpack of bathroom stuff, a laundry bag, a dry cleaning bag... WAY too much stuff to have on tour with me! What's sad about it is that if you look in my room at home, it looks like I am still there. That's how much crap I have. (When I say crap, I actually mean clothing). Anyway, I unpacked everything, organized, and re-packed. I just have to make sure I don't take as much stuff out with me when we start work again next week! If I can't carry it in two trips, it doesn't belong on tour. :)

My project tomorrow is my room at home. I am too embarrassed to even post a picture of it. I have piles of stuff all over the floor. (I am an extremely organized person, so I am literally losing sleep over this). I have bags of wonderful Christmas gifts that have not been put away, because I have not been home. Last time I did this, Goodwill got about 8 bags out of me. Wish me luck!

The Hotel Life

I have lived in hotels for about 11 months out of the last year and a half. Every day. Even when I sleep on the bus and we travel at night, I check into a hotel during the day.

You just never know what you are going to get. It's not like we get to choose where we stay, so you just hope for the best. The nicest hotel I have stayed in on tour was in Toronto, the WORST was when were were playing podunk WV and they had us staying at some roach motel in Ohio. I literally mean bugs and stains. So sick.

Holiday Inn Express is our favorite lower end hotel. Would I prefer a Courtyard in every city? Yes.... but lets be realistic. Holiday Inn Express has great showers, and good beds. However, they usually do not have a restaurant or bar, and when you are staying in the middle of no where in South Dakota (where I was yesterday) that is something you pray for, because every restaurant closes by 9:00. Everything about touring makes you a "late" person. You are working late, you eat late, you go to bed late, and you wake up late. Everyone does, and I don't think there is one exception to this little lifestyle.

Anyway, the three things I hate most about living in hotels:

1. The Housekeeping Key Knock. I just heard it about one minute ago. They must go to Hotel School and learn to rat-a-tap-tap the plastic keys on the door as they yell "housekeeping"! And they do it twice before they enter. I am pretty sure this is universal, and it is the most annoying thing in the world, as they make their way down the hallway every day. The maids loudly talking to each other from across the hallway might fit in here too. In Spanish.

2. Hotel towels. I think they wash them in bleach and starch.

3. Hotels with their heating/cooling systems on the wall. It's impossible to figure out where you should have it set on the red/blue dial to make the room the temperature you want without a thermostat. And it is always placed RIGHT next to the desk where I have to work, blowing air on my face. Today I have opted to work from the bed in Topeka to avoid it. But the sheets are pilly so it's kind of grossing me out.

Let's just say I can't wait to go home next week!!

Atlanta, GA

We have been in Atlanta all week, and it's been pretty nice! I rented a car for the first four days, just so I could get out and about. We are staying on the outskirts of the city, so there is really not much for us to do besides go to the mall, Barnes & Noble, or Hooter's. Darrel and I found some REALLY great restaurants, I have done some shopping, we had a fun party/dinner at a friends house, a goodbye party for a friend who is leaving the tour, and we went to Coca Cola World.

We had one of the best dinners we have had in a looonnngggg time on Monday night. I found the restaurant through my Continental dining program. It was called Anis Bistro. It was so French that the TV in the bar had on French news, and someone had their dog in there! We tried things we usually would not eat, and loved every minute of it.

Coca Cola World was fun. It's $15 to get in, and they have tons of old artifacts, art, history, movies, a tour of how Coke is made and bottled, and at the end, they have every Coke product from all over the world for you to try! I don't drink pop, but I tried most of the juice products. However, Darrel decided to try them all. Lets just say that some were not as good as others!

Smoking Sucks

Short blog-you can still smoke in the bars in Atlanta... this is very rare. We went out tonight for a very good friends last night on tour, and had a blast. But tomorrow morning, I have to wash my hair, wear new jeans, add to my laundry bag, air out my jacket. All because of smoke. I smoked for 11 years, and have become Satan in regards to smoking, but I feel extremely strong on this issue. How has Cleveland banned it, but HOTlanta has not!?

Hershey, PA

I have always wanted to go to Hershey, PA. Just because I heard that the light posts we shaped like kisses. And they are!

Hershey consists of the plant, Chocolate World, and the Park. That's it. The Park is an amusement park, so it's only open in the summer. And, we hears that they are moving the plant to Mexico. Anywa, we decided to walk to Chocolate World, because some of us wanted to check it out, and I was under the impression that is where you toured the plant. We were told it was three blocks from our hotel. Ok, no problem.... except is was the typical "5 minute walk" people tell us when they have never walked it, because they have cars. Lets just say we were all frozen by the time we got there, and dreading the walk back. It was neat, but the tour is not real- it's just a ride you go on and they show you what it is like inside the plant. It's pretty much a way to get you to the giant gift shops. I am happy I have been there, but also happy I never took the time to go on my own.

The BEST part about Hershey was this restaurant that we found! It was on the key card for our hotel, and the entire company wound up going both nights. Just a nothing place when you are driving down the street, but the FOOD!! And the owner, Phil, was just awesome. Turns out he is in the Guiness Book for riding the most roller coasters in a 24 hour period (74) with one of my boss' friends. Small world. :) Anyway, he was a character. He kept the place open until everyone had eaten from the show, not matter what time they got there, comped us food, let us sample things. Darrel and I said we would stop back there on a road trip just to see this dude again. Made our week.